Melbourne: Third seed Dinara Safina threw down the gauntlet to her elder brother Marat Safin by breaking her Australian Open third round jinx on Friday.
Safina opened the day's third round play on Rod Laver Arena -- her brother will end it against Roger Federer -- with an effortless 6-2, 6-2 victory over Estonia's Kaia Kanepi to advance to the fourth round for the first time.
"There's a first time for everything," she said after the 66-minute clash.
Safina will play either 15th seed Alize Cornet of France or 19th seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
"Twice I lost in the third round. I was like this today: 'That is the third time (and it) should be the luckiest one.' I hope (me being) on centre court and winning, I hope he can close the same way as I (did)," she said.
While she and her brother moved in different circles at grand slam tournaments and on the circuit, she would still go and watch him play against Federer later on Friday.
"I saw him once after my first round match, and that's all," she said of her lack of contact with him."
"Everyone is practicing different times. And I don't like to bother him to go for dinner. He eats later than I do. He has his company. I have my company. I will come to watch him. I want to watch him. I think it's gonna be great match. I hope they both can show their best. God knows who gonna win," she added.
Safina, whose impressive form and jump in the world rankings has coincided with improved conditioning, said that fitness and confidence from going deeper into tournaments was helping her.
"I'm fitter and I have a tennis coach that I'm working already almost a full year with him. I have a condition coach with me travelling, so it's day by day the same person working on me. ... that's maybe why you don't see me taped. "If mentally you're fresh, you can help your body to give the last step. If mentally you are tired, then you go even more down and everything is going down."
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